What would happen if Temple University disappeared into thin air?
- OVER 29,000 STUDENTS RECEIVING HIGHER EDUCATION
- 43,000 JOBS STATEWIDE
- $205 MILLION IN TAX REVENUE FOR PENNSYLVANIA
- $82 MILLION IN CHARITY, PROVIDED BY TEMPLE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM’S HOSPITALS
POOF. GONE.
Temple, like other research institutions across the U.S., acts as a significant economic engine for Philadelphia. Every day, the university makes an impact on the city’s most critical economic sectors by generating substantial revenue, employment opportunities, affordable education and access to the community.
The Fox Focus editorial team met with a few members of the Fox community to discuss some of the ways that we work to positively impact the city of Philadelphia in a few critical economic sectors.
Entrepreneurship
In 2018, Philadelphia landed the eighth spot on the Forbes list of top startup cities in the U.S. because of the affordable costs of doing business, convenient access to other East Coast hubs and the passionate, talented citizens.
Ellen Weber is an assistant professor in strategic management and executive director of Temple University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute (IEI). She also serves as the executive director of the Mid- Atlantic Diamond Ventures, an independent organization that helps companies build sustainable businesses by better positioning them for funding while increasing value at an early stage.
She asserts that Philadelphia-based universities like Temple provide those talented citizens and future business people with space and expertise they need to flourish and give back.
One direct way alumni give back to the City of Brotherly Love? Job creation.
When they were students, Andrew Nakkache, BBA ’15, and Mike Paszkiewicz, BBA ’15, had the space to convene and the faculty expertise on hand at the Fox School and IEI to help them launch Habitat, a food delivery app that, in 2015, won them first place in Temple University’s Be Your Own Boss Bowl®. Today, they employ about 20 Philadelphians and the growth shows no signs of slowing down.
“Entrepreneurs are also problem solvers,” Weber says. “They seek to solve problems that they understand and experience.”
And in 2009, Tim Bennett, MBA ’09, had a problem. Because of the environmental benefits of composting, he wanted to get in on the trend. But he was living in a second-story South Philadelphia apartment and wasn’t sure how to get started. After talking with friends, he realized a community of people wanted the same thing.
He used the entrepreneurial mindset that he cultivated at the Fox School to develop a business model where his company, Bennett Compost, collects kitchen waste from customers for a monthly or yearly fee. Bennett Compost picks up scraps from more than 2,000 households and businesses every week, keeping over 52 tons of material out of the landfill every month.
Philadelphia Sports
The Temple Owls generate more than a sense of pride for Philadelphia and its citizens. Much like the Flyers, Eagles and the Phillies, the Temple Owls are huge moneymakers.
The city hosted the NCAA Men’s Basketball East Regional 28 times since 1939. Most recently, in 2016, the event was estimated to have generated 5,000 hotel room bookings and $10 million in economic impact for the city.
“These ‘new dollars,’ or money spent by visitors to Philadelphia, have a ripple effect,” says Daniel Funk, director of research and PhD programs and professor at the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM). “People are going to restaurants to eat dinner, they are spending money on entertainment. Their dollars ripple throughout the city’s service sectors.”
In addition to the economic impact of large events such as the 2017 NFL Draft—which, according to a research project conducted by STHM and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, totalled $94.9 million in direct and indirect spending—they also allow Philadelphia to shine as a travel destination. Data from that same study found that 79% of the attendees would recommend Philadelphia as a travel destination and 62% planned to return for a vacation within 12 months.
“University and city sports boost the world’s impression of the city itself,” Funk says. “They reach out and attract people to Philadelphia.”
Finance & Accounting
Despite a bubbling entrepreneurial network and healthy sports and tourism industries, Philadelphia is still one of the poorest large cities in the U.S., with a 2018 poverty rate of 26%.
However, universities with strong accounting and finance programs like the Fox School can combat those statistics on an individual level by spreading financial literacy and offering support services for the Philadelphia community.
Alumni like Anthony Copeman, BBA ’14, and Thomas McDevitt, MBA ’02, have dedicated their careers to helping empower Philadelphia’s most economically disadvantaged citizens. Since he was a student studying accounting, Copeman has founded a nonprofit (Backyard Business) and a financial coaching program (Financial Lituation), began working for the City of Philadelphia, and launched an animated financial literacy YouTube series called $hares.
McDevitt, an IRS enrolled agent, chartered financial analyst and certified financial planner, provides affordable, low-priced tax resolution services and financial literacy training for Philadelphia working families and small business owners on a volunteer basis and with his nonprofit, Philly Financial Planning.
Businesses have for many years sought to enrich the diversity of their employee base to better serve their customers and clients,” says H. Richard Haverstick Jr., BBA ’74, chair of the Fox School Accounting Advisory Board and a member of the Fox School Board of Visitors. “Temple has a richly diverse student body to go along with its outstanding accounting program. For these reasons Temple is considered a prime source school by accounting firms and corporations.”
Healthcare
With dual MBA and BSN degrees, Brian Sweeney, MBA ’00, is in the business of saving lives.
Sweeney worked as a nurse in North Philadelphia and experienced new perspectives from patients and their families. This inspired him to work toward improving the healthcare industry, and he decided to pursue an MBA at the Fox School. As chief operating officer for Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, he is responsible for operations across several hospitals, a 700-physician network and additional businesses that generate over $2 billion annually.
The rise of the MD/BSN and MBA degrees is a trend that Sweeney has noticed. Physicians who are interested in leading change choose schools like the Fox School to round out their knowledge base. “A driven group of medical professionals are coming out of Fox,” Sweeney says. “I partner with them to advance initiatives that could really create positive change in the industry, like researching and standardizing best practices in care. They understand working toward the best patient outcomes at the lowest cost.”
Just like most businesses, healthcare is competitive. The marketplace in Philadelphia is no exception; there are various choices for providers staffed by highly qualified nurses and doctors. Many experts assert that this competition is healthy and will lead to providing more appropriate care and lower costs. But, with that approach, a community challenge has emerged.
“There is still a huge health and inequity disparity in Philadelphia,” says Sweeney. “The ability for these systems to collaborate and share knowledge and best practices could be critical to solving societal issues. Great strides could be made with teamwork across healthcare systems and community organizations of Philadelphia.” Sweeney thinks that, as an institution dedicated to providing education and fostering research, Temple has the potential to be a convening center to allow this cross-collaboration to flourish.
Real Estate
What if we could fundamentally change the overall well-being of a neighborhood? A city? Real estate development could be more than affordable housing, open-area shopping or gentrified neighborhoods. It could be a transformative path to alter existing communities for the better, according to Assistant Professor David Wilk.
Wilk’s Fall 2018 Real Estate Development class looked at whether Temple could partner with the city and create a University Research Park model that provided an enhanced social infrastructure for the North Philadelphia community.
The students recommended creating a “P3” Innovation/Research Park. “P3” is a place where Temple, the city of Philadelphia and private businesses would create a facility designed to foster education and research focused on creating social infrastructure for the neighborhood.
Often, development projects focus on restaurants, retail shops and housing. But the class focused on social work offices, childcare facilities, clinics and an innovation center as an expansion of the Small Business Development Center partnered with IEI. The students envision the park being a place where Temple students from multiple disciplines can gain experience teaching early education classes or working with residents to optimize healthcare plans.
A key aspect, according to Wilk, is keeping the existing community, not pushing residents out. “Development does not have to hurt a community, it can enhance a community,” Wilk says. “Developing a social infrastructure innovation park is a win for Temple University, a win for private industry partners and a win for the community.”
Howard Brown is a changemaker.
After graduating from the Fox School, Brown, BBA ’05, enjoyed several years at Goldman Sachs and then TD Bank. He lived in a Manhattan highrise; he held season tickets to the Eagles and the Yankees. Today, he heads an investment company focusing on social infrastructure and economic development.
Those are great things, but what makes Brown a changemaker is his work in the Philadelphia School District. The former foreign-exchange analyst teaches students at Northeast High School about business. But more than that, he teaches them about life choices.
When Brown was still at Olney High School, he started coming to Temple University. A friend who was two years older than Brown was a student at the Fox School.
“He took me all through Temple’s campus,” Brown says. “I had a chance to learn about the Temple culture, Fox and all the great things the school did for him. I was enamored with the school even before I went there.”
At the Fox School, Brown focused on his studies and opportunities, starting out as a marketing major but soon switched to finance. He joined the financial management association, the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) and he joined a student professional organization (SPO) for entrepreneurs.
When asked if he was involved with the Center for Student Professional Development (CSPD), Brown’s voice goes up an octave. “Was I?” he rhetorically asks. “Corinne Snell, is she still there? Janis Campbell? Those people treated me like gold.”
At the CSPD, Brown was a corporate relations liaison, establishing relationships between businesses and the CSPD team. It was a chance to practice networking and learning the importance of creating relationships to do business.
“They helped me grow from being a scrappy kid to being much more polished,” Brown says. “A big reason I was able to get an internship on Wall Street was the Center. They were very instrumental in my success, but they were very instrumental in a lot of people’s success.”
From analyst to mentor
In 2004, before he graduated, Brown interned at Goldman Sachs. Then he was hired as a foreign exchange analyst where he oversaw trading, risk and financial reporting involving several businesses on the foreign exchange and spent time working in several units at Goldman Sachs. The normal process, Brown explains, is to work on the trading floor for about three years and then go back to school for a master’s degree. That was not for him.
He traveled up and down the West Coast trying to get a business up and running throughout the recession. Eventually, he returned to the Philadelphia area.
“My grandparents were teachers,” Brown says. “My grandmother was always very critical of my handwriting and I told her it did not matter because I would never be a teacher.”
When he first came back to Philadelphia, he volunteered at the school district. Brown was a motivator. He met with kids who had or were in danger of dropping out and stressed for them the importance of going back to school.
“It was about getting brutally honest about their future prospects if they don’t get educated,” Brown says. “Many of them were very receptive to me because I wasn’t really all that much older than they were.”
Brown’s success in mentoring high school students led him on trips to an odd place: prison. In 2014, he was among a trio of men—the others were pastor Damone B. Jones Sr. of Bible Way Baptist Church and Chad Dion Lassiter, president of the Black Men at Penn School of Social Work—mentoring rapper Meek Mill while Mill was in the Philadelphia prison system. Brown said he spoke to Mill frequently about what kind of impact the rapper could have, given the power of his voice and about the role Mill wanted in the lives of his children. The two men have remained friendly and regularly speak, often about their children.
Brown spent about a year volunteering at the school district before he took a vice president position with TD Bank, where he managed and executed asset-based and leveraged financings.
He was there for three years before he felt the pull of wanting to connect with students again. Throughout his time with TD Bank, he still spoke at schools and gave career advice at Northeast High School.
To hear Brown tell it, that first gig volunteering was about discovering himself. And now, as a teacher, it is more about the students discovering themselves.
Teacher, counselor, parent, friend
Generally speaking, Brown teaches business, but the classes fall into two primary categories: marketing and entrepreneurship.
Brown says his students have chemistry, algebra and other common classes all day long and then they come to him where he is trying to teach them how to start a business.
“Even those who are not entrepreneurial love being creative and developing businesses from scratch,” Brown says. “Young people tend to quantify success on money or how many assets a person has. I tell them some of the most unsuccessful people I’ve met in my life had a lot of money. Being successful is not about money.”
Brown explains that teaching often goes much deeper than what is in the lesson plan. A lot of the lessons he imparts involve teaching his students to look at themselves through a different world view.
“Teaching is not just about teaching your subject and your curriculum,” Brown says. “You are a teacher one day, a counselor one day, sometimes you are like a parent, sometimes you are a friend. You have to listen a lot.”
Brown recently completed his master’s degree in education and entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton School of Business. He is specifically interested in education entrepreneurship and is working on conceptualizing a program or school that teaches entrepreneurship and venture capitalism.
There are not a lot of high schools that introduce students to entrepreneurship and business. Yet, according to his research, there are a lot of benefits to learning business earlier in scholastic careers than later.
“What I try to articulate to my students is that you can be a producer instead of a consumer, and change your community. You can create generational wealth.”
Many of his students come from very challenging backgrounds. “You can make a huge change for you and your family just by being an entrepreneur,” Brown says. “You don’t have to do something very big, you can start right where you are and do something small.”
This winter, the Department of Theater will embark on its second round of an innovative playwriting initiative—commissioning and producing a world premiere play—thanks to Fox alumnus David Steele, BBA ’91. In 2016, Steele, the founder and CEO of One Wealth Advisors in San Francisco, established the Playwright Residency Program at Temple University’s Department of Theater.
A true everyman, Steele began his professional career with J. P. Morgan Securities, but soon branched out as an entrepreneur. Once he was confident and secure in his success, Steele pondered the expansive possibilities of his professional life.
Now he is the founder and manager of five businesses from restaurants to yoga studios in the San Francisco area. In addition to his primary business One Wealth Advisors, Steele is the co-creator Moxie Yoga & Fitness, founder and Managing Partner of Ne Timeas Restaurant Group, Managing Partner of Foxsister Hospitality Group and Managing Partner of Noise Pop Industries, an independent music promoter.
Steele is also a board member of Playground, a nonprofit playwright incubator in San Francisco and the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), a nonprofit service organization that empowers working artists and emerging arts organizations across all disciplines.
His longtime interest in the arts and the perceived lack of arts patronage on the West Coast led Steele back to Temple University. “We don’t have a patron artist culture or society as I wish we did. This [program] is really just a form of patronage,” says Steele.
When Temple approached him with the residency proposal, Steele, a visual artist and playwright himself, felt it was a perfect match for his ideals and investment. “They came up with a concept that was absolutely perfect with my ideas and my ideals,” says Steele. “I really didn’t have anything to add to it. And I equally believe in getting out of the way of artists.”
The past, present and future of the program
The Playwright Residency Program was developed by former Temple professor Edward Sobel, past Director of New Play Development at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. It is uniquely structured to support playwrights and their work. Playwrights are guaranteed a full production of the play following a short development process, allowing them to remain in close contact with the original generative impulse. They also have the opportunity to write for a known ensemble of actors and artists to create pieces suited to the strengths of the students at Temple University.
The first result of the program was the 2017 production of Reggie Hoops by Kristoffer Diaz, author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Diaz created a full length drama about a former NBA assistant general manager faced with the decision between the profession she loves and the family life she cherishes. The world premiere production featured the six 2018 master of fine arts (MFA) acting students as well as original designs from MFA design students.
This academic year, a new class of students will have the opportunity to participate in the program with playwright Marisela Treviño Orta, a Mexican-American artist whose work has been produced at the Marin Theater Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Arizona Theatre Company, among others. The actors and designers will work directly with Treviño Orta and director, Professor Lindsay Goss, on Somewhere, a drama about a world on the verge of ecological collapse. The production will run from January 29 to February 9 in Randall Theater.
To purchase tickets to Somewhere, click here.
Manveer Singh, his cousin and their driver were riding through the streets of Nairobi, Kenya in January of 2019 when a bomb exploded. Within seconds, gunmen were firing indiscriminately at anyone on the street and the trio found themselves hiding in the back seat of their car as bullets pummeled the vehicle.
The three men survived. Now, months removed from the terrorist attack, Singh, BBA ’19, shrugs it off. The coffee business can be dangerous, the young entrepreneur says.
Singh graduated in May 2019 and runs two businesses: Maharajah Coffee and a network of Airbnb properties. He also works online as a stockbroker. Maharajah Coffee is his passion project and his vision for it began years earlier as he hiked along the border between the Brazilian states of Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais, a few hundred miles north of Rio de Janeiro.
Singh passed what he thought was a winery due to the bustle of men carrying large sacks heaved over their backs in the heat. But the farmer, a friendly, tall man in a big fedora named Ernesto, flagged him down. When he stopped, Singh took note of the strong coffee aroma.
The two men started chatting, face-to-face. Singh prefers face-to-face conversations. He lost 95% of his hearing about 10 years ago and often relies on reading lips to “listen” to what other people are saying. Singh toured the coffee farm and learned about the farmer’s process for growing and harvesting the beans. He already knew that, often, the farmer had to settle for less than a fair price.
They parted with a handshake and Singh began to dream of starting his own coffee business. “I want farmers to have a better life, I want to pay them fairly,” Singh says. “What happens if you do not pay them fairly? Some farmers have committed suicide, some have sold their land. If there are no coffee farms, there is no coffee. A life without coffee is nothing.”
Struggling to find his path
As a teenager, Singh began to lose his hearing. He adapted to his new normal and in 2012 he came to the Fox School.
“Fox’s international business program is really diverse—there are a lot of students from different countries,” Singh says. “Students from China, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and India come here to study and we all get to learn from each other about different cultures.”
As enthusiastic as he was about Fox, Singh struggled to adjust. Trying to read the lecturers’ lips was not easy for him; he often felt confused and anxious. By 2013, he faced academic dismissal, so he decided to travel and find opportunities to volunteer. As a Sikh, he took up Seva, or service, and traveled to Turkey, Syria and Nepal. Following an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, Singh volunteered to help clear the rubble and search for survivors. Singh said the travel and volunteer work helped “put my mind and soul back together.”
Hearing loss is not a disability; not listening is
In 2016, he returned to Fox and his lip-reading skills improved. Taking online classes worked well for him. His grades improved, but he still struggled at times. The key, Singh says, was that he never lost hope.
Singh attempted to find internships and other job opportunities, but he was turned down, occasionally because of his hearing loss. Singh learned to turn that rejection into a source of inspiration after realizing that the true disability was others’ inability to listen to him and see his value.
“I used to think my hearing disability was my obstacle until one day I realized that was not true,” Singh says. “It did not matter that I had 95% hearing loss, it is the people who cannot see what I can do that are the obstacle.”
He decided if he could not get hired, he would run his own business.
In 2017, he cashed in stocks and started two companies, one based on turning real estate into Airbnb locations and the other, partially inspired by that conversation with a Brazilian farmer, was Maharajah Coffee.
Singh’s model is simple: he finds quality coffee grown at organic farms and he pays farmers fair market value.
“I want farmers to harvest their seeds with happiness,” Singh says. “If a farmer harvests their seed with depression or sadness, the coffee will be bitter.”
Earlier this year, in January, he went to Kenya to visit his father’s family, and, of course, meet some farmers to try some coffee. He felt welcomed by the Maasai tribe and was intrigued by the strong coffee grown in the red soil of the Kenyan mountainsides.
On Jan. 15, 2019, while Singh and his cousin, a government official, were traveling through Nairobi, there was an explosion and several gunmen started firing on a crowd. After the gunfire died down, the men hid in the car for about an hour before they climbed out of the bullet-riddled vehicle and ran for home.
“The coffee business can be risky sometimes,” Singh says, noting that in many countries, the areas filled with coffee farms are also known hideouts for criminals and terrorists. But Singh was not deterred.
By February, Singh started selling coffee from Sumatra, Ethiopia, Brazil and Kenya. He sells one-pound bags of whole beans or coffee grounds online through Amazon and plans to open a shop in the U.K.
Courage and hope
“In the future I do hope to become a motivational speaker to inspire others and help them succeed,” Singh says. “When you are going through hell, there are three things to keep in mind: keep smiling, have hope and don’t let yourself down.”
Money is at the forefront of the way we think about business—how can you make your company, and in turn yourself, more profitable? A recent Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey reports that “92% of surveyed corporate human resources executives agree that contributing business skills and expertise to a nonprofit can be an effective way to improve employees’ leadership and broader professional skill sets.”
We agree. That’s why the Fox School offers a well-rounded business education. In the classroom and the community, these three alumni gained tangible skills that empowered them to carry forward altruistic efforts that enhanced their personal and professional lives.
1. Empowering the next generation
MELANY BUSTILLOS, BBA ’16, believes that lifting up others is the key to helping the city of Philadelphia thrive. As the education officer for Prospanica, a nonprofit supporting the educational, economic and social success of Hispanic professionals, Bustillos encourages young adults to understand the value of education. She discovered her passion for mentoring students when volunteering in the Philadelphia public school system.
“A lot of kids feel like they can’t have big dreams or aspirations because their future is just set to what it is,” says Bustillos. Experiencing that response firsthand, Bustillos knew she needed to be a part of an organization that showed students the ways education could make their dreams a reality.
Bustillos works with local Philadelphia universities to foster relationships with students and transition them from campus life into career management through workshops on financial literacy, community service and personal branding. Bustillos serves on Prospanica’s board while working full time at Cigna as a risk and underwriting senior analyst. She also serves as a lead for Cigna’s Colleague Resource Group. She volunteers in a role that leverages cultural insights and connections to innovate approaches and solutions to increase engagement, performance and career mobility, while building enterprise capabilities to address the needs of diverse customers.
Bustillos continues to pursue opportunities in advocacy, and by investing in the next generation, she works to build the foundation for a smarter Philadelphia.
2. Studying the business of medicine
For NISHANTH SHAILENDRA, MBA ’18, finding a career in analytics was a driving force throughout his time in the Fox Global MBA program, but he didn’t know which industry to enter—until he discovered healthcare through networking with classmates. “I was very curious how the industry operates because what surprises me in the U.S. is the high cost of healthcare,” says Shailendra. Originally from Bangalore, India—a country with drastically different medical costs, quality of care and infrastructure than the U.S.—Shailendra wanted to better understand healthcare here and its unique set of challenges. In his role as business analytics administrator for Cooper University Healthcare, Shailendra uses data to improve affordability and accessibility for patients.
“We are trying our best to make sure that any patient that comes in does not need to come back. By reducing readmission and improving access, such as not waiting long to get an appointment when you’re sick, we’re working toward a healthier community,” says Shailendra.
As for his personal life, Shailendra plans on translating his experience at Cooper University Healthcare to improve aspects that the healthcare system lacks in his native country. “I believe that the quality of care in the U.S. is one of the best, but there are cons—like the high costs. My goal is to take the ‘pros’ back to India and apply my experience to improve the health and wellness of the community there.”
3. Encouraging nonprofit work for all
LINDA MCALEER, MBA ’74, is the president of The Meilor Group, a strategic marketing research and consulting firm in Center City. McAleer also serves on three nonprofit boards and advocates that her employees do the same. “Part of the mission of The Melior Group is to give back; it’s part of the culture. Each employee is active or involved in at least one mission-based organization,” says McAleer. She believes nonprofit work supports well-rounded professional growth and has an impressive track record to prove it.
McAleer came to her nonprofit role as chair of the Philadelphia-area National Multiple Sclerosis Society and board membership at both JEVS (formerly Jewish Employment and Vocational Service) and Career Wardrobe through understanding the needs of those around her. When her sister was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the mid-90s, accessing information and resources was difficult. She joined the National MS Society and was immediately tasked with fundraising. “I didn’t know how to raise money, but I said I’ll figure it out—like we do as Temple grads. We figure it out and solve problems,” says McAleer.
Most recently, McAleer supports Philadelphia’s new MS Navigator Program that helps those newly diagnosed (and those with needs) by providing information about insurance, home modifications, support to live independently and other services. She also promotes the Bike MS: City to Shore Ride, one of the most successful fundraising events in the country that allows participants to have fun, raise money and see the difference the MS Society is making.
In this new section of the Fox School alumni magazine Fox Focus, the editorial team interviews Fox employees about what extra knowledge, credentials and support they offer students and alumni. Here, our faculty and staff share the ways in which they do everything they can to empower our students and alumni to reach their full potential and achieve personal and professional fulfillment.
Born, raised and educated in Philadelphia, Kamina Richardson, assistant program director and pre-law advisor for the Department of Legal Studies, has a strong desire to give back to the local community. Richardson is certified in American Sign Language (ASL), Safe Zone and Narcan/Overdose Reversal. She is committed to and passionate about providing knowledge, resources and services to meet the needs of Fox undergraduate students and alumni.
Why did you pursue an ASL certification?
I grew up with a deaf brother, and I really came to understand his struggles. When I learned that Temple offered an ASL certification, I enrolled because I realized there is no ASL translator at Fox. I believe we need one in order to best support our efforts to be diverse and inclusive, and I would like to be an interpreter nationally and at Fox events. I started two years ago and completed the certification in May. I believe this will help our community because we have a large population of students with disabilities at the school.
What does your Safe Zone certification mean to you?
I’m a minority and I understand the stereotypes and assumptions that people have. The LGBTQIA community suffers from this too. I am willing to listen and understand the different kinds of things they go through, especially in college. I want to open my door for advising and to offer a safe space to talk so that people can vent about the frustrations of coming out or figuring out who they are when it comes to gender identity.
Safe Zone is a two-day training that involves looking at assumptions that we may have regarding LGBTQIA. The training highlighted the privileges of those outside of the community and how we can be more understanding to those inside it. Through the training, I learned that there are different ways to talk about gender identity that won’t discriminate against members of the LGBTQIA community. If people come to me with questions, I can speak to them about this and other topics.
What led you to pursue a Narcan/Overdose Reversal certification?
I’m from North Philadelphia, which is one of the places impacted by drug issues. Drug addiction is intense, and students are often open to drugs without realizing the consequences of their choices. Some may need liquid courage or a pick-me-up for school and they don’t realize some substances can be deadly. I got this certification because I want to be there in a moment’s notice if a student is having an overdose on campus or in the community. It’s necessary, especially with young minds who are trying to figure out who they are.
What are your personal goals for your work at the Fox School?
I understand what it is like to be a student and to feel lost. My goal is to be a resource for as much information and as many services as possible. I never want to be in a position where I don’t know something that would help a student. Next, I’m going to get certified in Spanish to better support the local Hispanic community.
2 Fox Alumna Who Are Making Global Impact
August 16, 2019 //
For Dr. Leila Bouamatou, DBA ’17, women’s leadership in business is deeply personal
As the daughter of the founder of a family-owned bank in the West African country of Mauritania, Bouamatou studied the challenges that women in francophone Africa face when seeking to take over the family business during her time in the Fox Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) program.
Bouamatou found that women’s biggest struggles included the institutionalized stigma of working outside the home; resistance from both older male and female members of the family, who were often unwilling to break with tradition; and the convention of women taking their husband’s last names, thus having a different last name than the family company.
To succeed in leading a family business in this environment, Bouamatou identified several key factors—such as modern-thinking fathers, supportive husbands, access to educational opportunities, and personality traits like determination and ability.
As the general manager at the Mauritanian General Bank, Bouamatou hopes to inspire young African girls and women to become leaders in business. She wants others to receive the encouragement that she felt at home from her parents and siblings. “I am particularly lucky to be the daughter of a modern-thinking father who has great respect towards women,” said Bouamatou, “and who believes in the potential of his daughters.” She recalls her mother teaching her from an early age about the importance of education and ambition.
Despite the barriers that remain, she sees hope for the future. “Africa is changing, and so is the mentality,” Bouamatou said. “Women are getting more and more educated and becoming more and more ambitious. Fathers are more and more supportive of their daughters and more open-minded, compared to previous generations.”
“I am fully aware that it would be hard for one single African woman to change the world,” said Bouamatou. “But I know that this African woman can shape her world and destiny.”
Nirmala Menon, MS ’91, International Change Agent
Nirmala Menon, MS ’91, worked in the Global Diversity and Multicultural Team at IBM before becoming the founder and CEO of Interweave Consulting, a diversity and inclusiveness solutions company. At IBM, she experienced the diversity and inclusion challenges across various countries. The experience prepared her to found Interweave and lead it to be a pioneer in India, where the arena was a non-existent market when the company began operations.
Through Interweave, Menon works with companies to implement progressive policies to support diverse groups. The company has touched the minds and hearts of over 150,000 people, including senior leaders and managers through its workshops and initiatives. Others receive these messages through e-modules and webinars.
“Diversity and inclusion is still a new area of work in India and it is hard to provide a direct ROI on the efforts,” said Menon, addressing the impact of her efforts. “However, there are several anecdotes that show that the efforts have translated into positive behaviors at work. A better understanding of respectful behaviors at work and more conscious efforts at gender, disability, and LGBT inclusion are all, we believe, influenced by our efforts.”
When asked how she is making the world a better place, Menon said, “In my mind, everything we do dovetails into building a better world! The work we do has a tremendous positive impact as it is directly focused on building inclusion. From helping organizations understand the value of diversity and inclusion and helping to build enabling workplace policies to support the same, it has a direct impact for the nation.”
She believes organizations are powerful vehicles of change and teach people to become influencers. “A mind expanded or enriched with knowledge and sensitivity is bound to be applied not just at work but equally in their behaviors at home and in society.”
As a result, Interweave is building the foundations for social change in India and beyond.
4 ways giving impacts Fox
When Temple University opened its doors at the turn of the 19th century, it was more than a place—it was a bold, new idea. The transforming concept that founder Russell H. Conwell called, “The Temple Idea,” was to educate “working men and working women on a benevolent basis, at an expense to the students just sufficient to enhance their appreciation of the advantages of the institution.”
Philanthropy at the Fox School has been a game-changer ever since Conwell turned his “Temple Idea” into reality. A culture of giving is tied into the mission of the university, and there is no shortage of ways to contribute. From small student donations to multi-million dollar endowments, alumni, students, faculty, staff, and community partners have donated generously to keep the Fox community ahead of the frenetic pace that exists in today’s competitive business school environment.
The school succeeds because of its community’s commitment to transforming global business education. This is evident in the school’s market-driven curriculum, cutting-edge technology, and impactful research. The Fox School continues to innovate thanks to the vision and generosity of its leaders and donors. The following highlights how philanthropy influences the hiring of faculty, program development, facility upgrades and expansion, and scholarship endowment to offer our students greater opportunities so that they can advance their industries and change the world.
1. Faculty
Attracting and retaining industry-leading faculty members is key to the reputation and success of the Fox School. They are gifted orators, mentors, and business and academic leaders. Their work and expertise reach beyond the classroom into the largest, most successful multi-national corporations. Fox students study with some of the brightest minds in marketing, risk, insurance, finance, healthcare, and many other fields. Here, more than 220 faculty create a hands-on experience that connects students to the real world and helps them make their mark in their chosen field or profession. The Jerome Fox Chair in Accounting, Taxation, and Financial Strategy is an example of one-way donor funds support the Fox faculty.
Jerome Fox Chair in Accounting, Taxation, and Financial Strategy
In 2015, the Jerome Fox Chair in Accounting, Taxation, and Financial Strategy was added. Created through a $2 million gift from Saul A. Fox, KLN ’75, in honor of his father, Jerome Fox, this chair is held by high-level practitioners of accounting, taxation, and financial strategy. “My father equally valued the accounting industry and the role of education in our society,” said Fox. “The establishment of this distinguished chair at the Fox School melds my father’s two lifelong passions and honors his memory as a successful accounting practitioner.”
The Jerome Fox Chair is currently held by David E. Jones. “The prestige of having a named chair is crucial to attracting high-achieving professors for our department and the school,” says Jones. Endowed chairs help promote the school’s presence and expertise in areas of business education and research, and ensure the school can secure world-renowned faculty to teach its students.
2. Facilities
The incredible growth and development of the Fox School on Temple’s Main Campus is creating a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, research, and business education as a whole. Technology, state-of-the-art research labs, co-working spaces, and an accelerator all ensure that the school offers the resources that students, alumni, faculty, and staff need to advance business education in the 21st Century.
1810 Liacouras Walk To continue innovating its programs for a record number of students, the school has expanded into 1810 Liacouras Walk. The building’s renovation was partially financed through philanthropic efforts. The project houses the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute (IEI), which occupies the first floor of the building.
- 77,000 additional square feet
- SIX additional floors
- COLLABORATIVE co-working spaces and new classrooms
- ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY to personify online and traditional learning
- EXPANSION of the Tutoring Center and the Business Communications Center
- STATE OF THE ART research labs for the Data Science and Business Analytics Institute and the Center for Neural Decision Making
3. Programs
Thanks to philanthropy, the Fox School has the opportunity to offer inventive classroom education, workshops, conferences, customized mentorships, and events. Wall Street Day and Be Your Own Boss Bowl® are examples of ways donor funds support the school and programs.
Wall Street Day In 2012, Dean’s Council member Douglas L. Maine, KLN ’71, a senior advisor at Brown Brothers Harriman, helped establish Wall Street Day. This experience allows students to get a glimpse into the day-to-day of Temple alumni working on Wall Street. It provides a comfortable arena in which they can ask questions of alumni, who were once in their shoes. Wall Street Day gives Fox students hands-on experience and the opportunity to meet face to face with successful alumni working in the financial industry,” says Cindy Axelrod, director of Financial Planning programs and director of the Owl Fund. “The experience allows our students to ask questions, network, and open doors for their future success. It enriches their collegiate careers and demonstrates the value of their Temple education.”
Be Your Own Boss Bowl® The Be Your Own Boss Bowl® (BYOBB®), a university-wide business plan competition, helps winners take their business ideas to the next level. The annual event is currently sponsored by Bernard Spain, FOX ’56, and Murray Spain, FOX ’65, brothers and entrepreneurs credited with popularizing the smiley face icon in the 1970s. In 2018, UniFi, a mobile app focused on financial wellness and onboarding, took home the top honor—a $60,000 grand prize. The UniFi team, led by Jessica Rothstein, MBA ’18, plans to use the new resources for talent acquisition and tech. “We have two pilots to launch this year,” said Rothstein. “Winning this competition will definitely help us reach our goals.”
4. Scholarships
Fox School students are driven to succeed. They rise to any challenge and surpass even the greatest expectations. However, success is hard to achieve if financial or personal obstacles stand in the way. Donor-funded scholarships provide financial relief while alleviating some emotional stress associated with funding a college degree. Scholarships empower students to seize hold of the opportunity to receive a world-class business education. Examples include immediate-use scholarships, endowed scholarships, and emergency support provided through the Fox Student Philanthropy society.
Fox Student Philanthropic Society Current students can help each other by contributing to the Fox Student Philanthropic Society (FSPS). The organization coordinates fundraisers for the Fox Student Emergency Fund for students who face an unexpected financial hardship that would prevent them from being able to get what they need to complete their semester. Faculty and staff can advocate for students who meet the criteria. “You think of philanthropy and you think of people who are millionaires,” said Shaniqua Wallace, FOX ’17. “Or you don’t think you have the money or the resources or that your coins matter. Anything that you provide matters.”
4 recent faculty research articles that will change how you do business
Innovative research has transformed the way we live over the last century. From the airplane and the automobile to the radio and the Internet, progress has come from forward-thinking leaders who discover new solutions and insights into how we do business.
At the Fox School, expert faculty members are taking up that mantle of progress. As they look for unsolved problems or unanswered questions, these researchers explore topics that impact our everyday lives.
1. Don’t play games with names. Mimi Morrin, a professor in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, found that consumers who were misidentified had a negative emotional reaction to the company. If a marketing email addresses “Shirin” as “Elizabeth,” or a barista calls out “Brian” instead of “Byron,” Morrin found consumers feel disrespected. Some even had a physical reaction to this transgression, like pushing a coffee cup further away on the table. In order to prevent customers from running away, companies don’t just have to personalize, they have to personalize correctly. Morrin suggests employing methods like frequent shopper cards in order to successfully embrace the use of customer names.
2. Getting angry at work can (sometimes) be okay. Most people avoid yelling at work. But anger can be productive, says Deanna Geddes, associate dean, graduate programs, at the Fox School. Her recent research studied workplace anger by looking at the status (either a supervisor or subordinate) and role (either expressing or receiving angry feelings) of the parties involved. If the employees already had a strong relationship, Geddes found that emotional disagreements promoted dialogue, improved working relationships, and created a beneficial movement towards organizational change. Yet when subordinates were on the receiving end of anger, the results were more often negative. So next time you feel your blood boiling in a meeting, recognize your role and status in the situation before deciding to unleash.
3. Remember what’s in your wallet. How much cash is in your wallet right now? Did you guess correctly? Joydeep Srivastava, the Robert L. Johnson Professor of Marketing, found that people are more likely to remember what’s in their wallets when they were holding larger bills. In addition, not only were they less likely to spend their money, participants with higher denominations were more likely to underestimate the amount of money they had. If you would like to be pleasantly surprised next time you open your purse, try taking out a $50 when you go to the ATM.
4. Crowded by ads—it can cost you. Crowds are the worst. Whether it is a congested subway car or packed venue, people can often respond by turning inwards and towards their phones. Xueming Luo, Charles E. Gilliland, Jr. Professor of Marketing discovered that being in a crowded area actually increases our susceptibility to mobile ads. In his study of nearly 15,000 mobile phone users, commuters in crowded train cars were twice as likely to make a purchase in response to a mobile ad, compared to those in less crowded trains. While we normally associate crowds with anxiety and risk-avoidance, Luo found that mobile ads can be a welcome relief in this environment. For companies, this means a new way to boost marketing effectiveness. For consumers, let’s be real—this won’t stop us from pulling out our phones.
For more updates on Fox Research, go to fox.temple.edu/idea-marketplace.
Deserve a raise? Here’s how to fight for it.
One hundred years ago, in 1918, the average American household made $1,518 annually. Today, the average business major’s starting salary is nearly 30 times that—between $45,000 and $50,000 per year, according to a recent study.
For the last century, we have seen wages rise. But as expenses have crept up, everyone could use a little extra in the bank. Luckily, two Fox School researchers may be able to help.
Tony Petrucci and Crystal Harold, two researchers in the Department of Human Resource Management, have studied the best tactics for negotiating a raise. On one hand, competency—the skills that an individual contributes to an organization—is king. On the other hand, the presentation of this delicate proposal may dictate whether it fails or succeeds. Here are some tips from Petrucci and Harold about how you can be strategic about increasing your salary.
From Tony Petrucci, assistant professor of practice:
1. Understand which competencies are most valued based on your role. “The best way to increase your own value is by creating value for your organization. Most organizations determine value by execution of competencies, including skills, knowledge, and experiences. Research has shown some competencies universally lead to higher pay. For example, people who display a feedback-seeking orientation earn higher pay raises and quicker promotions. Seeking feedback is typically associated with higher levels of emotional intelligence, which is a competency most organizations value and reward.”
2. Know where the future is trending in your field. “Competencies in areas such as digital leadership, data analytics, real-time feedback, artificial intelligence, and leadership are very relevant and valued. Deloitte, for example, found that digital leaders of the future will need to be more networked, collaborative, more inclusive, and better at giving, seeking, and receiving real-time feedback.”
3. Recognize that career paths will become less traditional in the future. “In today’s environment, individuals need to take more ownership for their career through personal learning. By understanding what competencies are important, showing calibrated excellence in those competencies, and marketing personal achievement, research shows you may have higher—and more frequent—raises.”
From Crystal Harold, associate professor of human resources management and Cigna Research Fellow:
4. Timing is important. “If you successfully completed an important project or received a major commendation for your work, time the discussion with your boss after these events. Research suggests that Thursdays may be the best day to ask for a raise, as people are generally most agreeable and potentially open to negotiations as the traditional workweek winds down.”
5. Do your homework. “Know the worth of your position, your skill set, and what you bring to the company. Be prepared to articulate why you merit a raise. For instance, if your job has changed in some meaningful way, be able to document how. If you played a critical role in completing an important project, be able to clarify your contributions. By knowing the salary norms for your industry and documenting your accomplishments, you can better justify your targeted figure.”
6. Don’t bluff unless you can accept the consequences. “Research shows that competitive strategies—like sharing details of a competing offer or threatening to walk away—during job offer negotiations yield higher salary gains. While these tactics might be useful for initial negotiations, be cautious of using them when requesting a raise. If you threaten to leave unless you receive a raise, but actually do not intend to leave, be prepared for the repercussions if your boss calls your bluff. And going on the job market to get an offer for the sole purpose of motivating a raise could irreparably damage your reputation with others within your industry.”
6 alumni and students pick essential items from 2019 to share with tomorrow’s business leaders
1. Nasir Mack, Class of 2021
Career goal: “To work in the entertainment, hospitality, and fashion industry.”
Time capsule submission: Social media “Since I hope to one day become the CEO of a firm that is active in the entertainment industry, it would be interesting to see how much the social media platforms have changed and the usage rate of the platforms in the upcoming generation. As a millennial, social media has become an integral part of our lives. A culture of constant comparison and instant gratification has been born that is also encompassed by a global connection of everyday people moving through life, all sharing their high and low moments, and their struggles. Industries, including the entertainment industry, have utilized social media to connect directly with their consumers, and vice versa. Ten years from now, the way we think about social media in business may be entirely different.”
2. Pauline Milwood, PhD ’15
Assistant professor of hospitality management, Penn State University
Time capsule submission: The heart emoji “It is the second or third most popular emoji used on social media platforms, according to infographic trackers. But I chose it to remind young men and women serving in hospitality and tourism that excellence in service and meaningfully connecting with others must be lived from the heart.”
3. Michael Moore, BBA ’93
Partner and chief commercial officer, WillowTree Inc.
Time capsule submission: Apple iPhone “We refer to the iPhone now as your identity layer—in other words, the phone has become the central hub for all our data, more than contacts and communications, but rather, our preferences, our personal and commercial profile. We may not need devices like this in the future; we’ll just need a small wearable device to power our identities. Even now, considering how quickly things are evolving—like going from typing interfaces to voice interfaces—who’s to say that we won’t have a tiny device behind our ear that’s a wearable and hearable interface very soon. The pace we’re on, with the way computing has progressed, in 10 years I think we’ll see such a radical shift in what personal technology looks like.”
4. Suzy Schramm-Apple, MBA ’87
CEO, PrescribeWell, Inc.
Time capsule submission: A laptop with Windows or Office Software “These compact, portable tools made it possible for people to communicate globally in an instant, to create presentations and spreadsheets, to create and manage databases, and to archive files with incredible storage capacity. They are invaluable to business people and leaders today.”
5. Ben Thomas, BBA ’18
Freelance audio engineer and music producer; Co-founder of nicethingsMUSIC
Time capsule submission: Spotify “Spotify is the perfect way to define the new direction of the music industry. Streaming has changed the entire business model of the industry and, unfortunately, has caused a lot of traditional businesses to be redefined. Personally, I love streaming, I think it has opened up more ways for artists to be successful than ever before. And I know that without money that artists make from streaming, there is no way that I would be able to live my dream as an audio engineer and producer.”
6. Daria Salusbury, KLN ’75
Founder and CEO, Salusbury & Co., LLC
Time capsule submission: The Dakota floor plans “I would add the original floor plans for The Dakota on the upper west side of Manhattan to the capsule because this development was so progressive and has stood the test of time with such occupants as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Richard Bernstein, Lauren Bacall, etc. It is still one of the most sought after buildings to call ‘home’ for the most outstanding and accomplished people who need a residence in New York City.”
This story was originally published in Fox Focus, the Fox School’s alumni magazine.
4 alumni blazing trails in their fields
There is more to success than know-how. That’s why business smarts, strength, and character are injected into the DNA of Fox students. That’s why alumni are endowed with traits—perseverance, determination, and professional polish, to name a few—that give them a competitive edge in business. Below, we highlight a few alumni who have built upon their education to achieve great success in the real world.
The Transformer: Steven McAnena
President of Distribution, Life and Financial Services, Farmers Insurance
Steve McAnena, BBA ’93, serves as president of Business Insurance at Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Liberty Mutual Group, Inc. (LMB). He is also executive vice president of Global Retail Markets at LMB. He joined the company in 1993 and served as president. His leadership experience, combined with his diverse experience and track record in product and distribution, help his division continue to cultivate strong relationships with independent agents and brokers. He studied actuarial science at the Fox School.
“I remember my days at Temple—meeting new friends, becoming exposed to new professors, learning new coursework. When I arrived on campus it felt as if things changed in an instant and then kept changing. It was as energizing as it was stressful and I did not realize how four years of my life at Temple would serve as the foundation for my career. At the time, I did not realize that professional life was really a continuation of the learning process that began at Temple.
Charles Darwin has a famous quote: ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.’ The same is true within business—just ask Kodak or Blockbuster. The most successful professionals and companies are the ones willing to invest in changing, evolving, and in some cases totally reinventing their businesses. To be clear, be proud of your accomplishments and celebrate your successes, but always, always be looking in the rearview mirror because the competition is bearing down on you. Try new things. Don’t avoid them. Take calculated risks. Don’t shy away from them. Embrace and learn from mistakes. Don’t hide them. The capabilities and skills that got you here today are likely not the ones you need to win tomorrow. Be ready, be excited, embrace change.”
The Builder: Atish Banerjea
Chief Information Officer, Facebook
Atish Banerjea, MS ’91, is the chief information officer (CIO) of Facebook. Before joining Facebook, he worked in senior leadership roles at NBCUniversal and Dex Media, Inc. and spent 10 years with Pearson PLC. He has also held roles at Maurices, Inc. and Simon & Schuster. Early in his career, Banerjea held a full-time tenure track faculty position at the University of Wisconsin as assistant professor of computer information systems (CIS), responsible for teaching all the advanced CIS courses for the undergraduate computer information systems program, as well as conducting research in support of teaching assignments.
Banerjea, who builds internal systems for Facebook, says the following about how he navigates working for the massive social media company: “I’ve learned there’s a Facebook way of doing things. For one, we build everything ourselves. And that’s because, in large part, we have a very strong platform. It’s also because many third-party products can’t match the pace at which we’re growing. And Facebook is a company driven by efficiency. Rather than bring a third-party product in that would change the workflow and the work process, which is what almost every other company does, we’ve figured out the most effective way someone here can do their job, from HR to finance, is to build a system to meet their needs.”
The Philanthropist: Larry Miller
President, Nike, Jordan Brand
Larry Miller, BBA ’82, is the president of Jordan Brand, a division of Nike Inc. This is his second tour with the brand, and he continues to garner international respect for his reputation as an inspirational leader with a proven track record of building premium businesses in the world of sport. In his role, he oversees the day-to-day operations and works with Nike global leadership and Michael Jordan to drive the brand’s global business objectives. Prior to joining Jordan Brand, he served as president and alternate governor of the Portland Trail Blazers and vice president of the U.S. apparel division of Nike. He also held executive-level positions at Jantzen, Inc. and Kraft General Foods, as well as positions at Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. and Campbell Soup.
“The Fox School prepared me for a career in business. It allowed me to start in accounting and transition into general management, marketing, and beyond. It prepared me to look at what I do from a business perspective, because it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of sports. I think the Fox School also prepared me to be a leader,” says Miller.
Miller possesses a commitment to philanthropy that is innate to Temple University and the Fox School. In 2015, he established the annual Tamara J. Gilmore Endowed Scholarship to award underrepresented female STHM students who are pursuing careers in hospitality and event management, and who exemplify Gilmore’s professional and entrepreneurial spirit. A Temple alumna who died in 1999, Gilmore was an accomplished business person within the hospitality industry.
When asked, Miller offered the following advice for the Fox community: “I’ve learned a lot of lessons throughout my career, from Campbell to Kraft to Jantzen to the Blazers, and ultimately Jordan Brand. When it comes to leadership, the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to have the right people in the right jobs, then allow them to do their jobs and give them support.”
The Mover and Shaker: Margaret (Meg) McGoldrick
President of Abington-Jefferson Health
Margaret (“Meg”) M. McGoldrick, MBA ’76, is president of Abington-Jefferson Health, where she has served as chief operating officer since 1999. She is responsible for Abington Hospital—Jefferson Health and Abington-Lansdale Hospital, as well as five outpatient centers and two urgent care centers.
Prior to joining Abington, McGoldrick held executive leadership roles with Hahnemann University Hospital and the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital. She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a Baldrige executive fellow with the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. She serves on the board of directors of several organizations, including the MidAtlantic Alliance for Performance Excellence and the Tristate Baldrige Alliance Program. She’s also a member of the Board of Visitors at the Fox School.
McGoldrick shares the best piece of advice that she was ever given: “Keep moving forward. There are ups and downs, certainly. Nothing’s a straight line. But if you’re not moving forward, you’re probably going backward.”
She also offers the Fox community tips to build a great career as a healthcare executive: “I have served on many nonprofit boards that are connected to the work of our organization. This connection into the community provides for a deeper relationship with all those partners in the community that make it possible for healthcare organizations to be more effective. Also, meeting so many talented individuals in these organizations increased my network of professional colleagues.”
McGoldrick’s Secrets to Success
- Respect and support all employees and clinical staff who care for the patients and families
- Listen to those closest to the patients and the work of the organization
- Dedicate yourself to a culture of safety and high reliability
- Embrace constant cycles of learning and improvement
- Commit to the Baldrige Framework of Management
The Career Pitfalls that Taught Her the Most Valuable Lessons
- Don’t let missteps or failures distract you from a continuous focus on your work
- Deal with problems early on, as they often deteriorate further over time
- Stop and listen before you react and try to respond rather than react
5 tips for making a meaningful connection with employers
The Fox School has maintained a focus on student professional development with the launch of the Center for Student Professional Development (CSPD). Since 1997, CSPD has served as a vital link between Fox students and the business community and a comprehensive resource for students on successful entry into the professional business environment.
In addition to providing resume critiques, interview preparation, career and industry awareness development, and placement services, CSPD also offers guidance on impression management, including personal branding—an increasingly important tool in 2018 for jobseekers, whether you are a current Fox student or experienced graduate.
What is a brand? The promise of an experience, advises Janis Moore Campbell, director of graduate professional development for CSPD. In a job search, communicating your personal brand—including the “experience of you that you promise” to an employer—is essential to standing out.
But how do you present that experience before getting your foot in the door? Job seekers must establish and reflect a brand online that is relevant to targeted opportunities and employers, says Campbell, and an increasing number of enterprises are expected to use social media, technology, and artificial intelligence for candidate recruitment and applicant sourcing.
Campbell offers the following tips for reinvigorating your brand and effectively communicating to target employers the promise of you.
1. Take a realistic stock of your current presence on the Internet. You can control what you upload—your digital footprint. However, you should also stay aware of what others upload about you—your digital shadow. Stay informed on both to limit the disconnect between what your digital footprint reflects and what your digital shadow conveys.
2. Use fact-based, not opinion-based, language. Skip the cliché resume speak—recruiters and employers are not interested in your “dedicated, detail-oriented” opinion of yourself. Stick to facts, like how many years of experience you have, the number of people you manage, and your knowledge of specific technology and software (AP, Python, SQL, Power BI, Tableau, etc.) Highlighting those facts in clear language is crucial as AI helps recruiters sift through resumes. Although applicant tracking systems (ATS) are improving at processing PDFs, for now, it’s best to keep formatting simple and to submit documents in Microsoft Word format.
3. Recommend; don’t ask to be recommended. Recommend others on LinkedIn, but don’t ask for recommendations. Doing so will yield the boomerang effect and you’ll soon discover that colleagues, customers, and vendors will be more than willing to write credibly about you.
4. Strategically volunteer to build and showcase skills. Volunteering is an outstanding opportunity to develop, use, and market a skill that you may not be able to cultivate and utilize in your current role. It’s not enough to just volunteer at the Broad Street Run because you believe in its mission; instead, consider taking a strategic approach to volunteering. For example, if you wish to establish or transition to a career in marketing, consider volunteering on the marketing committee for the Broad Street Run as perhaps a more effective way to give back and contribute to your professional development.
5. Join and network through trade associations. For the most productive networking, meet others within a select field through regional and national professional associations, both online and offline. Nearly every industry or professional trade group has a local or state chapter that hosts a variety of events where you can increase your knowledge, meet industry professionals, and get the inside track on job openings in your area of interest. Professional trade associations and industry groups offer a wide variety of beneficial connections.
This story was originally published in Fox Focus, the Fox School’s alumni magazine.
5 Fox students and alumni redefining leadership
Modern leadership manifests in seeing opportunity where others cannot. Today’s leaders choose to zig while others zag. They empower others, lifting as they climb. They are agile and creative, adept at solving problems.
They’re also scarce. According to a 2016 report, more than 56 percent of U.S. executives say leadership required to address their companies’ most pressing needs was absent. And only 7 percent of those surveyed say their companies had established fast-track leadership programs catered to the next generation of leaders.
The Fox School is stemming that trend. This year, the school launched the Fox Leadership Development Program (FLDP) to strengthen the competencies in graduating seniors that are most sought after by leading companies. FLDP aims to enhance those skills through a yearlong programming schedule required of all Fox students.
“Our goal through this program,” says assistant dean Charles Allen, “is to enhance our students’ overall experiences at Fox and, as we have for 100 years, better prepare them for the eventual transition from leaders in the classroom to leaders in the workforce.”
Sometimes, they don’t have to wait even that long. Here are five Fox School students and recent graduates proving there’s no cookie-cutter for leadership.
They Make An Impact
Last summer, one week separated the landfalls of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico. The hurricanes claimed more than 100 lives and created $100 billion in damages. Ivan Cardona, a current student pursuing an executive doctorate in business administration (DBA), witnessed the devastation generated by the hurricanes, including the loss of his marketing business. But the tragedy didn’t break his resolve.
Immediately, he sought support for his country— freshwater, food, healthcare, and access to physicians, among other resources. He tapped his network, including others enrolled in the Fox Executive Doctorate in Business Administration program, to make that possible.
Cardona led philanthropic efforts to bring resources to Puerto Rico. He collected and distributed food to 2,300 families on Thanksgiving, using his trips to the U.S. for bi-monthly Executive DBA residencies, as well as chances to create contacts with folks who could lend assistance. He repeated his efforts in December, helping to hand out presents to more than 2,700 children at Christmas. His mission work focused on some of the island’s most affected municipalities, those that still lack access to freshwater and electricity.
Recently, Cardona and others distributed more than 2,000 solar lamps, as well as hand-cranked washing machines, to residents who are still without water and electricity.
“I’m not a hero,” Cardona says. “But when you see that, you start thinking, ‘If I leave, where are these people going to find water? Where are these people going to find food or how are they going to take care of their babies?’”
The work is not over, for Cardona and his home country.
They Give Back
Jannatul Naima, BBA ’18, is a first-generation college student, which means her experience doesn’t necessarily look like everyone else’s. She pursued her undergraduate degree, managed family responsibilities at home, led two student organizations and held down a position in the Fox School’s Office of the Dean.
“My parents, like most immigrants, place value on education,” says Naima. “My mother and my father each work 60 to 70 hours a week. They have always said they will struggle so that my siblings and I won’t have to know struggle. To them, you work hard to get where you need to be in life.”
Her strong work ethic is paying off. In May, Naima earned an International Business degree with a concentration in Finance. She accepted entry into a two-year leadership development program at JPMorgan Chase, where she will rotate between roles in project management, process improvement, risk and control, and analytics. This presents an exciting future for Naima—at JPMorgan Chase and beyond.
Thanks to her success, Naima wants to give back. She found volunteer opportunities through Feed Philly and held positions in two student organizations: The Muslimah Project, a women’s empowerment organization that combats Islamophobia and provides a safe space for women of all cultures; and Temple’s chapter of United Muslim Relief, through which she raised thousands of dollars to aid Philadelphia-based refugees and build a maternity ward in Nigeria.
“Even as a young girl, I set high expectations,” Naima says. “It’s normal for me to be as involved with my school, my community, and my family. It’s all part of my goal to give back to my family and give back to the community in more ways than one.”
They Adapt
Self-starter. Creative content consultant. Haircare influencer. These terms all apply to Tomi Jones, BBA ’18. So does this one: Gig worker, someone who secures gig or contract work.
Jones’ gig work is her life’s work. She monetized her YouTube channel, earning enough to offset a few educational expenses and develop a following of more than 90,000 subscribers along the way. She also works as a creative content consultant who helps firms and brands develop, create, and produce digital stories.
Jones first accepted contract work in her elementary school days when she signed up for table reads of scripts as a child TV production assistant.
She continued her passion for film and TV in 2015 for the movie “Creed.” Not only did she score on-camera time, but she also worked in stylist and production assistant roles on the set. Later that year, Jones interned by day for a Delaware-based bank. By night, she shuttled to New York to serve as a production assistant for the Netflix series “The Get Down” and complete YouTube certification courses. Not making much money, she often ate free meals on set, crashed on the couch of her aunt’s Harlem home, and jumped the turnstiles at subway stops.
“I’m not proud of that last one,” she says, “but I am proud of how you can open doors for yourself with daunting, sometimes-unpaid jobs. No one in this line of work has a resume that says, ‘One year here, two years there.’ Fox is ahead of the curve, and more universities need to be encouraging students that you can find satisfaction and your life’s work outside of a 9-to-5.”
They Create Connections
A study-abroad trip to Spain exposed Kyshon Johnson, BBA ’18, to plenty she’d never before seen: Culture, food, language… and the role of a father in the home.
The International Business major witnessed her host father doting on his wife, Johnson’s host mother. He would bring her flowers and play games with their daughter. He would hug them both tightly.
Johnson grew up in a single-parent household in Philadelphia. Her mother, Johnson’s inspiration, raised three children while attaining three college degrees. Her father, incarcerated, is not a factor in her life.
“Because it was normalized in my community, I didn’t know it was an issue,” she says. “So, I conducted research, and I wanted to share what I have learned and see if I could learn more.”
In 2017, Johnson launched 100 Other Halves. The independent project applied her education, as Johnson met with 100 women of diverse backgrounds. Johnson invited the women, whether in person or in webcam meet-ups, to tell stories about their fathers—good, bad, or nonexistent.
“The women shared one trait: They contacted me to participate. Otherwise, they were all uniquely different,” Johnson says.
Johnson cataloged 100 Other Halves through posts to social media and her blog. She reserved the 100th interviewee for someone special—her mother, Kenya Barrett.
“My mom came into it with an open heart and open mind because she was raised through foster care,” Johnson says. “She was only two when her mother passed away from cancer, and she never knew her father. I watched her lay the foundation for who I am today and I never really asked her about her upbringing. It was enlightening for both of us.”
Upon graduation, Johnson began a business leadership program at San Francisco-based LinkedIn. She hopes to convert 100 Other Halves into a film or TV project.
“It’s important that women have opportunities to share their stories,” she says. “This started as a social experiment, and it’s become a platform for healing that I’m incredibly proud of.”
They Stay Busy
Ryan Rist, BBA ’18, meets weekly with his Little Brother, a 10-year-old student at Philadelphia’s Independence Charter School, through the Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters. They often bond over lunch, conversation, or a game of soccer.
“I’m an only child,” Rist says, “so, in many ways, it feels like he’s my little brother. It’s rewarding to see him every week, get to know him, and make a difference in his life.”
But his leadership in his school and community extends beyond Big Brothers Big Sisters. Rist, who graduated in May with a Finance degree and a minor in Entrepreneurship, will also begin a three-year stint in the finance leadership development program at Prudential, where he held two prior internships. The rotational program allows Rist to build upon earlier experiences within Prudential’s tax investment and business planning and analysis teams.
“I like to stay busy,” Rist says, smiling. His professional, personal, and scholastic experience prove it.
He served three years as a resident assistant in one of Temple’s housing facilities. He also climbed the ladder in the Financial Management Association at the Fox School, for which he served a nine-month term as president—organizing activities, speaker series, and on-site visits to corporate headquarters for the 170-member student organization.
Outside of the classroom, Rist is resurrecting an entrepreneurial passion project he launched in 2014 as a high school senior. Rist Custom Coasters, behind a strong Kickstarter campaign, manufactured drink coasters with rubberized circular bottoms and felt inserts to absorb run-off. Personalized with images of logos or family photos, the coasters earned more than 150 crowdfunding backers. Rist brought his business to 2018 Be Your Own Boss Bowl®, an annual business plan competition at Temple.
When asked if he viewed himself as a leader, due to his many personal interests and professional responsibilities, Rist says, “I think everyone is a leader, to some degree. Everyone has the ability to lead. It’s just that leaders don’t always look or lead the same way.”
This story was originally published in Fox Focus, the Fox School’s alumni magazine.
5 Fox School students and alumni share how scholarships changed their lives
Margaret (Meg) McGoldrick
BBA ’74, MBA ’77, President, Abington-Jefferson Health & Member, Fox School Dean’s Council
“I had the opportunity (in April) to meet with a dozen Fox students and they are so impressive,” says McGoldrick on a recent meeting of the Fox School Dean’s Council. “They are articulate and clear communicators. They show enthusiasm, politeness, and creativity. They attend Fox with a purpose, many of them to start their own businesses once they graduate. You can see that drive within them. Whenever I meet Fox students, I come away with a stronger understanding of why I invest in the school’s future.”
Charles Atangana
Class of 2019, Finance major
“The scholarship I received was valuable and significant to me because it off set the amount I needed to borrow to finance my education and pursue a BBA in my desired field. Once I graduate, I plan to use my finance degree to pursue a career in the music entertainment industry, and this wouldn’t be possible without the aid of the Johnson family and their scholarship.”
Kevin Johnson
BBA ’80, Vice President of Finance Transformation, Coca-Cola (retired) & Member, Fox School Dean’s Council
“Between contributions from my parents and my work-study program, I funded part of my education—but I still came out of the Fox School with debt. Today, I have a duty to give back to a place that gave me a foundation for a successful business career. Most people tend to think they need to write a seven-figure check to make a difference. That’s certainly not the case. Others need to know that we’re all capable of making a difference for the future generation with whatever we are able to contribute.”
Kristina Abi-Daher
Class of 2019, Accounting major
“Access to scholarships made the Fox School more attractive to me. I worked a job throughout high school, and that made my life more difficult than it needed to be. I didn’t have any flexibility in my schedule, or the ability to focus solely on my education. Now, my schedule isn’t nearly as complicated and I can dedicate myself to my education.”
Johanna Walters
BBA ’00, Senior Vice President, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
“I’m from a blue-collar Midwestern town, and my husband Brian (Sweeney, MBA ’01) and I both came from humble beginnings. We identify with the struggle of having to finance education, as well as the associated cost of not working in order to pursue a degree. It can be a heavy cost to the student. We firmly believe that education is one of best returns on investment. We established a scholarship at the Fox School to make students’ paths through college a little easier.”
This story was originally published in Fox Focus, the Fox School’s alumni magazine.